On the Menu for Jan. 14, 2014

On the Menu provides the latest news from the Charleston area’s extensive culinary community, including new restaurants, new menu items and upcoming events, as well as details about local chefs. Submissions should be sent to dailyjournal@scbiznews.com.

Jeff Henderson will be the featured guest chef at a dinner on Jan. 29 benefitting the TBonz Foundation, which supports youth organizations throughout the Charleston region. The dinner will feature five courses — two of which will be personally prepared by Henderson — and certified Angus beef cuts. Guests will receive a copy of Henderson’s newest book, If You Can See It, You Can Be It: 12 Street-Smart Recipes for Success, and have the opportunity to get it autographed. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at Liberty Tap Room and Grill, 1028 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in Mount Pleasant. Tickets are $50 per person or $90 per couple; call 843-971-7777.

Henderson will team up with several chefs from the Homegrown Hospitality Group for the five-course charity dinner, including Pearlz Oyster Bar Executive Chef Victoria Neikirk, Liberty Tap Room & Grill Executive Chef Steven Stackley, and Kaminsky’s pastry chef Ihite McDonald.

The former executive chef of Cafe Bellagio in Las Vegas, Henderson is the author of Cooked: My Journey from the Streets to the Stove. He is currently starring in the nationally syndicated Family Style, where he shows how making good choices in the kitchen can lead to life-changing experiences for the entire family. After growing up on the tough streets of central Los Angeles and San Diego, he ran a large drug operation at age 19, and was incarcerated by age 24. While in prison, he discovered his passion for cooking and committed himself to turning his life around.

Imbibe, the national magazine and website of liquid culture, released its second annual best-of issue, The Imbibe 75, which names 75 notable people, places and flavors to watch in 2014. Chosen by Imbibe’s editors, The Imbibe 75 features interviews and recipes from tastemakers. Two of Charleston’s culinary newcomers were selected and profiled in the issue: High Wire Distilling Co. and soon to open Edmund’s Oast.

High Wire Distilling Co. and owners Ann Marshall and Scott Blackwell were part of the “People to Watch” section. The profile talks about their culinary approach to making artisanal spirits and highlights their unique products like the all-molasses rum that was aged in Woodford Reserve barrels, the botanical gin — Hat Trick Gin — and the sorghum whiskey.

Edmund’s Oast was part of the “Places to Watch” section, and even though it is yet to open, Imbibe highlights owners Scott Shor and Rich Carley’s on-site, five-barrel brewhouse and their plans to create experimental brews with Old World recipes. They also share more about Chef Andy Henderson’s menu and the overall plans for the restaurant.

Cypress hosts James Beard Award-winning author Hank Shaw on Wednesday for an exclusive book signing event. Shaw will be selling and signing his new book, Duck, Duck, Goose, while chef Craig Deihl provides snacks, including a selection of charcuterie and cured meats. Guests are invited to drop by Cypress between 6 and 8 p.m.

Deihl also will feature a duck-inspired entree on its Charleston Restaurant Week menu that same evening. For dinner reservations, call 843-727-0111. Cypress is at 167 East Bay St. in Charleston.

The Greater Charleston Restaurant Association Inc. will host the 31st annual Lowcountry Oyster Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jan. 26 at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant. The Lowcountry Oyster Festival has been named one of the “top 20 events in the Southeast” by the Southeastern Tourism Society.

This year the gates open earlier at 10 a.m. There’s an expanded children’s area, a VIP ticket upgrade option online and complimentary off-site parking shuttles.

There will be food and sweets from a variety of restaurants, including AW Shucks Seafood Restaurant, Gilligan’s Seafood Restaurant, Hyman’s Seafood Co., Jim n Nicks BBQ, Red’s Ice House, The Windjammer, Wild Wing Cafe and Zeus, along with food trucks, such as Rollin South, Dukes BBQ, BlackJack BBQ and Hubee D’s. Sweets will be provided by Dixie Supply Bakery & Cafe and Wando High Culinary Arts.

The children's area will be called “Pluff-A-Palooza” and will be a celebration of pluff mud, the natural habitat and home for oysters. It will feature jump castles, the mini-cine — a 40-foot shipping container converter into a theater — face painting, the Pluff-Mudd-Circus, a craft tent and a lounge.

Tickets to the event are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. Tickets are available at charlestonrestaurantassociation.com, at area Southcoast Community Banks, Boone Hall Farms, or official visitors centers in Mount Pleasant and downtown Charleston.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit local charities including the Ronald McDonald House, Hollings Cancer Center, Hospitality Heroes, Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Charleston County Schools Science Materials Resource Center.